Thursday, August 14, 2008

Anyone interested in website design knows that there is a wealth of easy-to-find instructional information available online -- but also that great insights, tips and tricks remain priceless. Earlier this year, I posted an entry entitled "Tips from the pros to reassess your website," which I still feel is a very good primer, and every day I discover more valuable new information. For example, yesterday I read "How-To: 15 Tips for Effective Web Design" from MarketingVOX.com, which was contributed by Mark Jackson, the chief editor of Host Review UK, and provides some excellent reminders, tips and links. I also visit sites like SmashingMagazine.com daily to keep up with other trends, ideas and techniques from the trenches, and whenever I want to "cut to the chase" and see sites widely considered to be the best of the best, I surf over to Favourite Website Awards (FWA) and sample their archive of websites deemed to be extraordinary. In this discussion on the latest in website design, I find it worth shouting from the virtual rooftops that FWA founder Rob Ford has co-edited a new book from one of my absolute 'favourite' publishers: Taschen Books.

"Guidelines for Online Success" just went on sale on Taschen's website, and Rob and his fellow editor Julius Wiedemann have filled it with the knowledgeable input and insights from the designers and developers around the world who have inspired them the most. As the copy for the book states, "This book has all the advice and examples you will need to give your personal or business website an edge on its competitors and also win industry acclaim as well as respect from your peers. Your visitors will thank you."